


Too Much

by starsholland



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Marvel - Freeform, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Tony Stark, Sensory Overload, Whump, spider problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:02:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23082934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsholland/pseuds/starsholland
Summary: Peter Parker has a sensory overload during school. Thankfully, Ned is there to call Tony Stark for back up.
Relationships: Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 22
Kudos: 446





	Too Much

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little old school, but enjoy! It takes place after Homecoming and before everything else in the MCU because I don't like that.

Before Peter had even opened his eyes that morning, he knew it was going to be a terrible day.

He had woken up early, nearly two hours early, from the clanging coming from the apartment above his. Mrs. Everly, his neighbor, was probably doing her dishes again at the break of dawn for no reason.

This would be no problem, of course, if he couldn’t hear it, but he could, thanks to his altered DNA that gave him his powers.

Sometimes, it was just like this. Everything was too loud and too bright and too stinky. And that’s how Peter knew he was going to have a bad day.

Because it wasn’t just that he could hear Mrs. Everly washing the dishes, it was that it sounded like someone was clanging metal pans together right next to his ear. And not only that, he could hear the water sloshing, the pipes running, every squeak that her slippers made on the tile floor. He could hear her humming the tune to some song he didn’t know. Heck, he could hear her breathe. 

He could hear _everyone_ breathe.

The entire apartment complex was bustling with movement, even at the early hour it was. People were getting ready to go to work, taking showers, brushing their teeth, and jingling their keys as they walked out their door. 

Outside, the streets of Queens were bustling, just as they always were, and Peter could hear every tire grove hit the cement individually.

He heard all of these noises combined all at once.

And, it hurt like hell.

As much as Peter wanted to go back to sleep before he had to get up for school in two hours, he simply couldn’t. He was dealing with more than just the sounds now as he became more conscious. 

His clothes clung to him, and he could feel every fiber of his cotton T-shirt he was wearing. He almost immediately threw his blanket off of him, hoping for some relief, but he could still feel every wrinkle in his sheets from the bed. It itched and ached, and he shivered, feeling like a million tiny ants were crawling all over him.

He gagged several times trying to control the smells his nose was taking in-- his dirty socks on the floor, the trashcan in the kitchen, May’s overnight hair product, the sewers in the streets below. 

His mouth felt like a cotton ball. He could taste the toothpaste leftover from the night before still in his mouth, making his entire tongue taste like strawberry. (Peter couldn’t have mint toothpaste because it made his spider reflexes freak out.)

And lastly, he was moments away from gouging out his eyes. The morning sunrise filled the room with just a little bit of light, but Peter swore it felt like six spotlights were shining on him. 

All in all, it was a pretty shitty circumstance. 

Peter loved his powers more than anything, but sometimes, they were just a pain. He knew that it made sense to have some “experimental errors” in the make-up of his DNA, but he truly wished these errors would wait to surface until after he graduated high school.

He took in deep breaths, trying to hone in on each one of his senses individually, but since all five of them were screaming at him, the most he could do was wither in pain. Ironically, he thought, this wasn’t even the worst it could be. 

In a moment of premature wishfulness, Peter hoped that this sensory overload wouldn’t get any worse. As much as this sucked, he thought he could handle it.

And to prove it to himself, he gingerly stood up out of bed, trying not to ruffle that sheets too much so he didn’t have to feel them or hear them. And deciding it was better now than later, he started to get ready for school.

It was a slow process. Peter had to tiptoe everywhere he went, to avoid his footsteps hurting his ears too much. He kept the lights off and closed the curtains as tight as he could. This, however, didn’t do much. To anyone else, the room would be pitch black, but to Peter, it was perfectly lit, maybe even a little too much. 

The clock on his nightstand by his bed was glowing bright blue, and Peter snagged the power cord out of the wall, giving him just a little more peace.

Peter knew he should probably talk to Mr. Stark about this. They had been having lab nights every weekend for the past three months, and even a few more on some weeknights here and there. But, Peter was too busy trying to impress Mr. Stark that every time he was about to bring his sensory overloads up, he froze.

It wasn’t a huge deal if Tony knew, but Peter didn’t want to bother him either way. Tony was a busy man, and Peter didn’t think he should have to worry about some 15 year old who can’t handle his own ears. 

Besides, Peter _had_ mentioned it before when he first met Mr. Stark. And because of that, his suits were programmed to help dull his senses to help him focus in a battle.

Unfortunately, this did nothing for helping him focus in math class.

If Tony knew, he would probably come up with something to fix it, and that thought paired with the feeling of all five of his senses flaring at once almost made him reach for his phone and call him. But, before he could do that, Peter saw the time and realized that time had flown by while he was getting ready at a snail’s pace, and it was time for him to head to school.

Truthfully, Peter knew he wasn’t in any condition to go to school. But, he had this super important presentation with Ned last period, and he would’ve felt awful that he left Ned to do it on his own.

Peter had gotten ready fine, he could make it through the school day.

Then, he’d go home, but the spider suit on, and go to sleep until the overload wears off.

With a deep breath, he nodded to himself in the mirror and headed out of his apartment building.

\---

Peter regretted his decision almost immediately. 

He for sure thought he was going to pass out on the subway. It was so unbearably loud and stinky, and Peter just wanted to disappear. By the time he got to school, there were unwelcomed tears in his eyes.

“Hey, Peter!” Ned exclaimed after slamming his locker.

He ran over to meet Peter, and just the sound of Ned’s footsteps almost sent him spiraling. 

The school was loud, really really loud. So much chatter was happening around him, and he could hear every heartbeat in the building.

“Are you okay?” Ned asked, sounding like car radio turned all the way up.

Peter flinched. “No.” 

Right after, however, he shook his head, “No, no, I’m fine. I just…”

The raspy words fell from his throat. The vibrations hurt too much, but luckily, Ned got the idea.

“Another overload?” Ned whispered as quietly as he could.

It still sounded unbearably loud, but Peter appreciated his friend’s effort. Peter nodded, eyes squinted. He gagged as a couple of freshman girls walked by wearing too much perfume.

“Dude, you shouldn’t be here,” Ned argued.

“I’m fine.”

“You are not. You better not have come because of the presentation fifth period. I would have been fine without you.”

“Ned, I’m alright. Let’s just go to class,” Peter said quietly and walked off.

As it turns out, sitting and doing nothing for an hour is way worse than moving around when Peter has a sensory overload.

Sitting gave him time to think. It made him realize how many individual threads his jeans had and also how disgustingly slick the top of his desk is. The smells of his neighbors were bad enough, but throw in a few chemicals, and it was even worse.

Today, Peter hated chemistry.

Thankfully, Ned was his lab partner, and he did all the work for him. The first 45 minutes of class was just creating the lab plan anyway, and so Ned didn’t mind doing a little extra work while his best friend suffered next to him.

Ned tried about five times in the first 20 minutes to get Peter to go home, but he wouldn’t listen. Instead, Peter kept his face on his arms, trying to block out the light. He kept fidgeting and repositioning, mostly because he was uncomfortable because he could feel everything, but also because he had to transition from covering his ears to his eyes to his nose.

So, chemistry was awful. But, who would’ve thought it would be history that would do him in.

Peter was once again lucky to share history class with Ned. But, unfortunately, thanks to his strict teacher, Ned and his assigned seats were on the opposite side of the room. Still, Peter thought this class wouldn’t be too bad.

Usually, Mr. Walker just lectured for an hour straight. No one even took notes because he put all of his slides online later anyway. So, Peter thought he wouldn’t have to worry about hearing 30 pencils scrape against paper (even though he could hear it in every other classroom), and Mr. Walker’s voice would give Peter something to focus on.  
But, no, this wasn’t the case at all. Instead, Mr. Walker decided that today would be a movie day. This excited Peter at first because that meant the lights would be off, which might help the tiniest bit with his sensitive eyes. But, then the movie started and Peter realized it was a nightmare.

Peter didn’t even know what it was about. Some war, maybe? All he knew is that it was way too loud-- even some other students were jumping in their seats from the volume since Mr. Walker was the most inept human ever when it came to technology.

And, it was bright. Not just bright, but flashy bright. The screen was flashing back and forth some battle scene, and as the first cannon went off, Peter leaped out of his seat with a yelp.

“Mr. Parker!” he heard Mr. Walker scream. 

This only made him flinch more, as the cannons on the TV kept going off over and over again. Somehow, someway, this caused his senses to spike, and now all five were charged up to 500%. And, now his Spidey Sense, as Ned had coined it, was also out of wack and screaming at him that there was danger everywhere.

Peter wanted to collapse right there, but he wasn’t confident in his ability to actually pass out, and the last thing he wanted was to be laying in the middle of his history class during the worst sensory overload of his life.

So, Peter did the only thing his reflexes could think of: he bolted. He ran straight out of the room, letting his legs guide him. 

He couldn’t think, too much was happening all around him. And now, even though he could hear everything from the classroom he just came from and every single other one, it all just sounded like a gurgled mess. The most distinct thing he could hear was his heartbeat that pumping way more rapidly than it should be.

Peter doesn’t remember how, but he ended up in a closet. Judging by the smells of cleaning supplies and dirty mop, it was probably a janitor’s closet. But, he couldn’t really see. The smell was so strong, he nearly threw up, but forced himself not to because the last thing he wanted was to taste that.

The lights in the closet were off, but the light coming from underneath the door was enough to blind him. He pulled his knees to his chest, put his eyes on them, and put his hands to his ears.

He hated the way his hands felt against his ears, he could feel every pore and curve of skin. He hated the smells of this closet. He hated the sounds making his head feel like it was going to explode. And he hated the taste that was still running through his mouth of strawberry and morning breath.

He hated this, he hated everything. 

He had the worst headache in his life, and he just wanted to be somewhere quiet and dark, so he could fall asleep and end his torture. The next thing he knew, he was crying. Stubborn tears raced down his cheeks, and although Peter hated the feeling, he didn’t have time to worry about it.

There was just too much pain.

Soon after, the door was slowly opening, the creak in the hinges making Peter groan, and then immediately regret doing so. 

It was Ned. Peter could tell because he always wore this coconut-scented lotion. On a good day, this scent was overpowering but welcomed since it blocked out some of the other more disgusting smells Peter’s nose picked up. But, now, it was completely overwhelming.

“Peter,” Ned whispered.

He must’ve said it very quietly because it didn’t sound too loud to Peter’s ears. Peter couldn’t do anything but shake his head at him to let him know that he heard. Tears continued to fall down Peter’s face and he tried to keep himself from sniffling because that would be too loud to handle.

“I gotta call someone, man,” Ned said. “Can you give me your phone?”

Turns out, Peter couldn’t. While he appreciated his friend's low volume, and clear desire to help, Peter couldn’t think. He knew that Ned was trying to ask him something, but he didn’t know what. So, in the end, Ned just reached into Peter’s pocket and pulled his phone out. 

Peter jumped so hard, Ned almost ran away, when he pulled out the phone. The movement of the phone and his pants against his skin making him want to shrivel up. In this moment, one of Peter’s tears landed on his lip and could taste the saltiness, causing him to cringe in despair at the taste.

When Ned had the phone, he turned to Peter.

“Okay, I’m going to go call for help. I’ll be right back,” Ned whispered, though Peter could only barely comprehend it with his headache.

Ned stepped out of the closet and walked down the hallway so he could talk on the phone at a normal volume. Although, doing this did nothing for Peter. Even though they were down the hallway, it still sounded like Ned was screaming in his ear.

He must’ve tried someone with no luck because Peter heard ringing and a voicemail box before Ned said, “Dammit.”

Instead of straining to focus on Ned, Peter just let the world consume him. With so much input, he could just zone out while all the stimulus hit him at once. It hurt, and he was still crying uncontrollably, but there was nothing to do. This was officially the worst sensory overload Peter had ever had, and he just wanted it to be over.

“Help is on the way, Peter,” Ned said when he came back in.

Although Peter didn’t hear it… Peter didn’t understand it, that is. There was just too much pain. But, had he been coherent, he probably would’ve noticed that Ned was just a little bit starstruck and giddy at that moment.

And had he been more coherent and not in excruciating pain, he would’ve been able to hear Tony yapping at Happy to drive faster about a mile away from the school.

Ned gasped a few minutes later when there was a small knock on the closet door, causing Peter to flinch. But, Ned didn’t have time to feel sorry because when he opened the door, Tony Stark was standing there looking highly concerned in a business suit.

Tony’s eyes immediately fell on Peter, and softened in sympathy. The light coming from the hallway caused Peter to move his hands from his ears to his eyes, even though he had them shove against his knees already. Tony noticed this and stepped into the room. 

“Why don’t you step out a moment,” Tony whispered to Ned kindly, nodding his head out toward the hallway. It was probably a good decision since it would’ve been crowded with all three of them in there.

Ned was happy to oblige and closed the door softly behind them.

Tony immediately sat down next to Peter.

“Hey, kiddo,” he whispered.

Peter couldn’t respond. He was just happy he was able to concentrate enough to understand that Tony was next to him. He was suddenly very grateful too. As much as he loved May, she would have no idea what to do right now.

Tony smelled the same as he always did, like motor oil mixed with after-shave. And while it made Peter have to do everything not gag, it was still comforting to know Tony was there. Tony knew how to fix things. Peter continued to cry.

“I know you’re in pain, buddy. I brought a few things that might help so we can get you back to the Tower.”

Tony pulled out a pair of headphones and slipped them over Peter’s ears. Peter could’ve screamed at the contact of the rubber on his skin, but when he noticed how much the sounds had reduced around him, he didn’t mind. He knew what Tony was doing, eliminating as much stimulus as possible for the time being.

While the headphones were good, even Peter’s ears were no match for it. He could still hear, but they did help a lot.

The second thing Tony brought out was a pair of blacked-out goggles, and these did the most help. They, like the headphones, were uncomfortable on Peter’s skin, but they blocked out almost all of the light.

Peter sighed, still in pain, but already feeling more coherent. Taking two senses out of the overload was a big help. Still, he had to worry about the rest. His hands moved from his eyes to his nose, trying to block out all the smells. His mouth tasted salty from his tears, and his Spidey Sense was still yelling at him ‘DANGER!!’ And, as much as he loved the glasses and the headphones, he had an overwhelming urge to rip them off his face, feeling every groove touching him.

“Alright, let’s get you to car, kiddo,” Tony said, Peter still hearing him from his headphones.

Peter nodded, and Tony paused for a moment.

“Can you still hear me?” he asked.

Peter nodded again. Another pause.

Tony must’ve thought it was strange, but he continued on.

“Okay, I’m going to touch you now so I can lead you to the car. Is that alright?”

Peter cringed, but he knew it had to happen. Reluctantly, he nodded, yes.

Tony kept a firm, but gentle hand on his shoulders on the way out of the school. It was a good thing, too, because Peter thought he might collapse into a pile of pain if Tony didn’t.

The next thing he knew, Peter was in the car. Since two of his senses were dulled, the ones that were still going were starting to get stronger, and Peter hated it. His Spider Sense made him jumpy, and although he couldn’t see, he could still tell where everything was. He knew that Happy would be hitting a pothole in five minutes, and would slam on his breaks three minutes after.

So, as much as Peter tried to relax, he couldn’t. Instead, he fell over, head landing against the seat. Tony, placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder, hesitating at first. But, even though Peter thought he would hate it, he welcomed it. It grounded him.

After that, Peter zoned out. He doesn’t remember much of the car ride, except that he was in a lot of pain and there was a lot of hushed road rage from Happy and Tony.

Sometime later, Peter was ushered into an elevator.

“We are going to head up to Medbay and see if Bruce can give you something to help you fall asleep,” Tony explained quietly.

Peter nodded. Sleep was good. When he was asleep his senses weren’t trying to kill him. Right then, Peter realized how much energy that the overload had taken from him. He was exhausted.

The tower smelt like machinery, and each floor they passed on the way up the elevator brought more intense smells. Peter smelt a lot of coffee. So much so, that he swore he would never drink it again.

Peter sensed what floor the elevator would stop at, but flinched at the loud sound the elevator made, headphones not blocking out enough.

Tony guided him through the floor until they must’ve gotten to their destination because he was being ushered to lay down on the bed.

“Hi, Peter,” Bruce whispered.

Peter couldn’t respond, but tried to show that he acknowledged him.

“I’m going to give you some medicine to help you relax, and then we will shut off all the lights, and let you sleep, okay?” Bruce explained.

Peter nodded, and let him do whatever he needed. But, he almost flew out of the bed when the needle went into his arm, the pain was so much more intense than usual. But, Tony calmed him down by placing his hand on his shoulder.

Peter gritted his teeth, and let more tears fall from his eyes. He hated the feeling of plastic in his arm, but after a few moments the medicine started to work, and Peter’s body finally relaxed. He realized for the first time how tense he had been as muscles loosened.

The room was quiet except for Tony and Bruce’s breathing and heartbeats. His nose was picking up on a strong smell of disinfectant, probably thanks to the fact they were in a medical facility. Peter was just thankful it didn’t smell bad.

And a few minutes later, as the medicine continued to calm him down, Peter was finally able to fall asleep.

\---

The next time Peter woke up, things were much better. 

The lights were off, and the room was quiet. His Spidey Sense wasn’t going off at all. He could tell he was still a little sensitive, and that would need to be careful for a little, but he could handle that. 

Anything was better than how it was before.

To his left, Tony was in a chair, scrolling on his phone. He noticed Peter staring at him moments later, and smiled.

“Hey, Pete. You feeling any better?” he asked softly.

Peter nodded. “A lot better. I can actually think again.”

Tony smiled again, “Good. You scared me, there.”

Peter grimaced. He remembered why he never told Tony in the first place. He didn’t want to worry him.

“I’m sorry. Thank you for coming to get me. I don’t know what I would’ve done if…,” Peter said, words getting stuck in his throat.

“It was no problem, kiddo, really. Is it alright if I turn the lights up just a little?”

Peter nodded, and Tony upped the lights by 10%, just so he could see him properly. Peter was happy to know that this lighting didn’t hurt him.

“How long have I been asleep?” Peter asked.

“Around 14 hours,” Tony said with a small laugh. “But, you needed it, I think. That overload was not pretty. How long have these been going on?”

Peter shrugged. “Since the bite.”

“Any triggers?”

“No, sometimes they just happen. That’s the worst it’s ever been.”

“Hm, interesting,” Tony commented. “You could hear through my special prototype soundproof headphones. It cancels out 99.5% of all sound waves, and noise was still bugging you.”

Peter stared at him, not knowing what to say.

Tony continued. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? You’re lucky you have Ted looking out for you.”

Peter smiled, “His name is Ned. Is he alright?”

“He’s fine. Worried about you, but that’s it,” Tony explained. “Now, stop avoiding the question and tell me why you never told me.”

Peter took a deep breath. 

“I don’t know. I just didn’t want to bug you, I guess.”

Tony rolled his eyes at him, but Peter could see it was playful.

“Kid, we work every week in a lab. We could’ve started a project to help with this little problem of yours.”

“I know, but-”

“Eh- no buts. From now on, you gotta tell me when something like this is happening okay? Your DNA was altered with no supervision, and there’s bound to be some hiccups here and there. I just want you to be safe, so if you let me know when your weird spider DNA is causing you trouble, then I can keep you safe, and you can not have sensory overloads in the middle of school. Deal?”

Peter nodded, “Deal.”

Peter’s eyes were already starting to droop again, the rest of his body still exhausted even after 14 hours asleep.

“Alright, you keep getting some rest. I’ll be right here,” Tony said, acting indifferent, but Peter could see the kind gesture. 

“May… does she?” Peter asked with a yawn.

“Yes, yes, May knows. She was here earlier, but she just went to work a couple hours ago.”

Peter nodded, and closed his eyes.

“Before you fall asleep, is there anything else I need to know about your spider DNA that you aren’t telling me?”

Peter cracked a smile. There was a whole list of things, of course.

“Spiders really hate peppermint,” he said, and then fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please leave me some comments on what you thought. This is my first Irondad writing, so I would love to know what you all think! :)


End file.
